


A Fluffy Afternoon

by Numbuh37



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Gen, One Shot, Post-Boruto: Naruto the Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 06:07:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26967190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Numbuh37/pseuds/Numbuh37
Summary: Metal Lee gets a surprise visit from a furry visitor.
Kudos: 8





	A Fluffy Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first one-shot for the Boruto series, specifically for Metal Lee. I love that little bean as much as I love Rock Lee!
> 
> I am still rusty in writing due to not having written anything Naruto-related, and due to piling work; but comments/critiques are very much appreciated!

Like all days, his ended with another rigorous training with his father. Not that he's complaining about it. With his next Eight Gates training coming up, Metal Lee couldn't be more excited and knew he had to put in more time, effort and energy into his training if he wanted to learn the technique.

And he did just that the next day. And the next. And the next. 

The bell rang out the Ninja Academy, signaling the students either to move to their next class or go on home. For Metal Lee and his friends, it's the latter. He walked out the school doors together with Boruto, Shikadai and Inojin, with the latter three deciding to stay longer in the school grounds to play videogames. Once the quartet settled under the tree, the other three boys took out their handheld consoles and started to play. 

"Leavin' already?" Boruto looked up at Metal, who nodded in response.

"My dad is going to teach me one of the Eight Gates soon," he replied excitedly, "so I must give my all!"

"Alright," the Hokage's son responded, "but once you're done learning the new Gate, join us!"

Metal grinned at his friends with a thumbs-up, a Nice-Guy pose he clearly inherited from his father. "That is a promise!" And off he went to the training grounds.

\-- an hour later in training --

Metal leaned against one of the training logs, sat on the soft grass and helped himself to a bottle of water. With a satisfied sigh, he returned the bottle into his bag and turned to the training log to land a kick, until he heard a rustle in the bushes. 

He stopped in his spot. The rustling stopped too. 

_Huh?_

Shrugging to himself, he landed a few kicks on the training log and heard the rustle again, causing him to lose balance and hit his face on the log. Rubbing his cheek, the rustle continued.

"Wh-Who is there!" He called out, one hand on his cheek, and the other holding a small shuriken.

The bushes continued to rustle. A sweat drop slid down the side of his face, as his eyes stayed focused on the rustling bushes a few feet away from him. 

"You have to come out, o-or I will go in after you!" He warned.

As if it understood him, the rustle stopped. Jumping out of the bushes was the last thing he'd see all day.

"A... A squirrel?"

He lowered his shuriken hand, pocketed the weapon back in his pouch and slowly approached it. The squirrel stayed in its spot, wiping its face with its paws. Once he was close enough, Metal bent his knees and let out his bandaged hand. Sensing the boy's presence, the squirrel looked up at Metal.

"It is alright. I will not hurt you," Metal smiled at it softly, his hand gently beckoning the little creature to come near. The squirrel tilted its head for a moment, and made its way to Metal's hand. Metal carefully stood up as the squirrel crawled up his arm and settled on the boy's shoulder. 

"You must have been scared when I shouted back there," he whispered, caressed the squirrel's cheek gently, "I am sorry." As if it understood, the squirrel continued to lean in to Metal's hand, causing the boy to chuckle lightly. 

"What are you doing here though?" Metal asked, walking towards the training log. "Are you looking for something?"

The squirrel crawled into his neck warmer, snuggled its face against Metal's sore cheek. The boy chuckled lightly in response. "Were you looking for me?" He asked, making the squirrel snuggle more. 

Settling at the foot of the training log, Metal pulled out his water bottle, pulled off its cover, poured some water into it and placed it on the grass. "Please have some," he said softly.

The squirrel crawled out from his neck warmer, down his arms and stopped in front of the container to help itself to the water. Metal gently stroked its head gently as it did. After discarding the leftover water, Metal returned its cover to the water bottle and placed it in his bag. 

"I need to get back to training," Metal stood up, as the squirrel looked up at him, tilting its head. "My dad is going to teach me a new technique, so I need to be ready -- oh!" He let out his hand again to the squirrel, smiling at it. "Come on."

Hesitantly, the squirrel climbed up Metal's arms and settled on the boy's head. Metal went over to the other training log, stopped in front of it and lifted his hand to slightly close the gap between the squirrel and the log. Using the boy's hand as a stepping stone, the squirrel hopped over to the log with ease. Letting out a satisfied sigh, Metal grinned at his little friend. "There, so you will not get hurt while I train." He paused for a moment, his smile shrinking but not disappearing.

"You know, you might be the first and only audience I have so far." Forgetting his training at hand, he leaned against the opposite log. "Not that I am sad or anything. It is just that I am not comfortable with people watching me do what I do, and I feel afraid that I might mess up." Metal looked up at his furry friend and gave a thumbs-up and a matching grin. "But you are an exception! So please wait for me, and I will help you get back home."

As if it understood what he said, the squirrel settled itself on the top of the training log opposite Metal's damaged one. It continued to watch the boy train the entire afternoon.

\--

The sun began to set, marking the end of Metal's training for the day. With a tired smile, Metal leaned against the log he trained on and looked up at his furry companion, its head tilted at him. 

"I am done for the day," Metal replied to it. "As promised, I will take you back home." He let out a hand, allowing the squirrel to hop on it before making its way to the top of Metal's head. "Are you okay up there?" The squirrel curled up comfortably, causing Metal to chuckle in response. 

Tucking the squirrel into his neck warmer, Metal sped off into the forest. With only a flashlight as the only light source, Metal walked his way through the bushes and trees, until they came to a tree with a hole on it. The squirrel hopped out of her hiding place in the neck warmer, landed on the ground, looking up at Metal. 

"Is this your home?" He asked, with the light pointed at the tree hole. The squirrel crawled up the tree and went into the said tree hole, poking her head out. As her way of telling him to follow, Metal did just that.

With the flashlight secured by the forehead protector strap, Metal climbed up the tree and settled on a thick branch nearest to the tree hole. Carefully with a flashlight, he peeked inside to see a nest of twigs, some discarded nut shells and a piece of cloth. He looked to the squirrel for permission, which she allowed, before examining the piece of torn fabric that's found at one corner of her nest. Judging by the texture of the fabric, Metal recognized it as something similar to the one used to make the Jonin vest. Written on it was name he couldn't recognize.

"Suzue?" He read aloud. The squirrel jumped and moved in excitement at the mention of the name. With a raised brow, he repeated the name. "Suzue." The squirrel then stopped, and looked at him. "Is... Is this your name?" The way the squirrel snuggled her head on his knuckle meant yes. Metal chuckled not only at the squirrel's sudden gesture, but also at the discovery of his furry friend's name. "Suzue-san... I will have to get used to call you that," Metal laughed, caressing the squirrel's head gently. "Ah, I have to get going. Papa might be looking for me." 

Adjusting himself to prepare to jump off, he looked into the hole again. "Come to the training grounds, okay? I train there everyday, so..." He blushed shyly, lightly scratching his temple. "It would be nice if you are there." 

Suzue went over to him and climbed up his arm. He lifted his arm and levelled it to his face. Her twitching nose prompted him to get closer, before the two had a nose-to-nose contact. Though he had no full knowledge of squirrels, Metal assumed that it's a squirrel's way of a kiss. He giggled at the contact, which made Suzue repeat her gesture. "S-Suzue-san, it tickles!" Metal laughed. It didn't take long before Suzue stopped planting nose kisses, allowing Metal to breathe. 

"I... I need to go," Metal panted from the laughter, "P-Papa might b-be looking for me." Positioning himself to jump off the branch, he looked at the squirrel one more time. "See you, Suzue-san!" He hopped off the branch and went his way, with his newfound friend peeking out as she watches Metal disappear into the shadows of the trees. 

**Author's Note:**

> That's my first one-shot. It's so looong, but I hope you guys enjoyed it!


End file.
